The No. 50 Huskers head to Ithaca, N.Y. to face Cornell and the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Saturday, March 1 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, in non-conference dual matches. The Huskers sit at 6-3 overall, with a 2-3 mark against ranked teams including a 1-1 mark at the ITA Kick-off Weekend event in Los Angeles where they were able to grab a 4-1 victory over fellow Big Ten members Wisconsin.

Nebraska duo Marc Herrmann and Beau Treyz have been impressive at No. 2 doubles this spring with a 5-3 overall. During the ITA Kick-off event, Herrmann and Treyz secured a win over No. 33 ranked Hugo Dojas and Maxime Hinnisdaels of Texas Tech. The Nebraska pair have performed fantastic this season with an outstanding 13-5 overall and secured the Big Ten Indoors Championships Tournament doubles title during the fall preseason.

Herrmann knocked off No. 86-ranked Henry Craig at No. 1 singles in their previous win over Denver on Feb. 8. Freshman Vasileios Stavropoulos holds a 6-1 singles record this spring with all but one match played from the No. 6 spot, giving him a strong start to his career as a Husker. Senior Tom Blackwell also sits at 6-1 in singles this spring, switching between the No. 3 and 4 positions.

Huskers In The ITA National Rankings

Nebraska jumped nine spots to No. 50 in the ITA Top 75 after its two win weekend in Georgia to tally a 6-3 mark this season. The national ITA Top 75 rankings were released on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

The Cornhuskers are one of 11 Big Ten teams in the ITA Top 75. Nebraska is joined by No. 1 Ohio State, No. 7 Illinois, No. 23 Northwestern, No. 26 Michigan, No. 34 Penn State, No. 47 Minnesota, No. 49 Wisconsin, No. 54 Purdue, No. 55 Iowa, and No. 61 Indiana. Ohio State and Illinois are the only two Big Ten teams in the top ten and are joined by Northwestern to be the only three in the top 25. Michigan missed the top 25 by one spot, landing in the No. 26 spot. Eight Big Ten teams sit in the top 50, including the Cornhuskers at the No. 50. Michigan State dropped out of the rankings, but were replaced by Iowa who hit the No. 55.

The Big Red are 5-4 coming off of a two match winning streak over conference opponents Tulane and UTSA ready to face the No. 59-ranked Huskers. Cornell went 14-8 overall in 2013 and 3-4 in conference play. The Big Red aren’t ranked with no ranked singles players and no ranked doubles pairs. The Big Red and Cornhuskers have met just once before, with Nebraska earning an 8-1 victory on March 26, 1987 in Claremont, Calif.

The Highlanders are 4-6 coming off of a 4-3 victory over Tennessee Tech and will face UAB prior to facing No. 59-ranked Nebraska. The New Jersey Institute of Technology went 16-6 overall in 2013. NJIT isn’t ranked as a team and has no ranked singles players and no ranked doubles pairs. This marks the first match ever between the Cornhuskers and the Highlanders.

Looking Ahead

Nebraska returns home for a match against Utah on Friday, March 7 at 7 p.m. followed by a double-header on Sunday, March 9 in which the Huskers host North Dakota at 8 a.m. and Drake at 3 p.m. The Cornhuskers begin their Big Ten conference play against Wisconsin at home on Friday, March 21 at 4 p.m. at the Nebraska Tennis Center.